Jungle no barrier to honouring HMAS Sydney II sailor’s memory

The sailor from the doomed HMAS Sydney II who was buried with full military honours on the Australian mainland is remembered always on Christmas Island.

Sub Lieutenant Meeka Brooks, with the memorial to HMAS Sydney II on Christmas Island. Picture: Colin Murty

The sailor from the doomed HMAS Sydney II who was buried with full military honours on the Australian mainland is remembered always on Christmas Island.

This is where on February 6, 1942, a Carley float containing a body was seen off the coast of what was then a British possession in deep turmoil. The float was recovered, and the body was subsequently buried where it remained for 64 years. It is a source of regret for some locals that archaeologists were sent to find and remove the sailor. In 2006 they succeeded, albeit with the gracious help of shire workers such as Ron de Cruz who brought them lunch each day. Mr de Cruz offered the scientific team typical island hospitality, including curry puffs made by his wife Susan. He was mesmerised when careful digging and sifting of dirt led to the discovery of the sailor’s remains, a near perfect skeleton in a crate. He said he was sorry to see the sailor go.

“I do think the island was ripped off when the sailor was taken,” he said.

On Saturday Australian Defence Force personnel cut back the encroaching jungle from the former grave, now a memorial to all 645 Australians who died as the result of a short vicious battle between HMAS Sydney II and a German raider, The Kormoran.

All aboard Sydney were lost without a trace, except for the body that floated close to Christmas Island.

Army and navy personnel clean up the area around the memorial. Picture: Colin Murty

Australian navy sub lieutenant Meeka Brooks, 23, gave instructions to other defence personnel who walked into the monsoonal rainforest above Flying Fish Cove to tend the memorial on Saturday.

“It’s important we respect the sacrifice they made,” she said.

In tropical heat and rain, it does not take long for the jungle to reclaim man made structures such as tombstones and plaques. Every few months, armfuls of vines are carried away from the HMAS Sydney II memorial.

Sub Lieutenant Brooks is one if two navy personnel stationed on the island, an Australian territory since 1958. Other military personnel have flown in to help support the quarantining of 278 Australians evacuated from coronavirus-hit Wuhan. Medical and other staff who have direct contact with evacuees are locked in with them for the duration of the quarantine period, a according to Australian Border Force. This does not include military and other personnel who work on the outer boundary of the detention centre-turned-quarantine station and do not have contact with evacuees.